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9.36% 7-Month CD at a Maryland CU - $200K Max (SECU)

Friday, September 28, 2007 - 9:27 AM CT by Ken - Bank Deals Guy

Update 10/01/07 6:00pm CDT: CD special has been removed from SECU's website, and it has been reported that it has ended.

SECU Credit Union is about to start a special called the Giving Thanks CD. A 2.50% bonus of the intial deposit is instantly awarded. The entire balance then earns 5.00% APY for 7 months. This gives an effective yield of about 9.36% APY. The minimum deposit is $2,000, and the maximum is $200,000. New money is required.

This special is not yet listed at the credit union's website. It was mentioned in this FW thread, and I called yesterday to confirm. I was told it would start on Saturday 9/29/07 and the end date would depend on the demand. They had a similar promotion last year and it ended 19 days after the start of the promo although it came back briefly the following month. After tomorrow, the special should be posted on the website.

Update 9/29/07: This is now listed at the credit union's website at this promo page. Other promos are listed here.

You can apply online for membership into the credit union, but this special CD will have to be opened at a branch or by mail. Membership is open to alumni, full and part-time students, faculty and staff of several Maryland schools and universities. Membership is also open to Maryland state employees and several other select employee groups. You can also be eligible if your family member (not just immediate) is eligible to join. Please see their field of membership page for the full details. Membership requires a minimum $10 balance in the share savings account.

No hard credit inquiry is done when you apply for membership or open deposit accounts. According to the CSR, they only pull credit reports with applications for loans or Visa cards after obtaining member permission.

Branches are located in the Maryland cities of Baltimore, Annapolis, Berwyn Heights, Columbia, Glen Burnie, Hagerstown, LaVale, Rockville, Salisbury, Silver Spring and Towson.

The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 66330). It's a large credit union with $1.7 billion in assets and 248,080 members.

Credit for this find goes to FW member mh83 who posted it on this FW thread.

Edit 10:53am: Added info received about hard credit pull.

Tags: credit unions, Maryland, certificates of deposit, SECU CU, large deposits

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In order by popularity, then date posted.

Anonymous - #1, Friday, September 28, 2007 - 1:18 PM CT

can somebody explain me how did it gives effective yield of up 9.36%?

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Banking Guy - #2, Friday, September 28, 2007 - 1:51 PM CT

It is a little confusing. Here are the approximate calculations. Perhaps someone can do the math to compute the exact APY.

An instant 2.5% bonus would be approximately equivalent to 4.30% APY for a 7-month term (2.5 * 12/7).

Remember that yields and rates are specified on an annual basis.

So the 5% APY is added to the 4.30%, and with a little more compounding, you get 9.36% APY.

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Anonymous - #3, Friday, September 28, 2007 - 2:06 PM CT

Thanks for nothing mh83 - sfchris

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Anonymous - #4, Friday, September 28, 2007 - 2:07 PM CT

I was wondering the same thing as the 11:18 a.m. question. Here's what I'm figuring, but it's based on simple interest, not compounding, etc. If you deposit $200,000, then immediately receive a 2.5% bonus of $5,000, you'd then have $205,000. $205,000 earning 5.00% APY interest would give you $10,250 if left in the bank for 12 months. Divide $10,250 by 12 months, and you'd earn $854.16 interest earned per month. Multiply $854.16 x 7 months, and you'd get a total of $5,979.16 interest. Your end balance after 7 months with your initial $200,000 deposit + $5,000 bonus + $5,979 interest, would then equal $210,979.16. So if at the end of 7 months you'd have earned $10,979.16, that would equate to approx. 9.36%. That 2.5% bonus is what's getting it to equate to 9.36%.

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9.36% 7-Month CD at a Maryland CU - $200K Max (SECU)

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